Like a touch of 2020, but in China. The country has been overwhelmed by a phenomenal acceleration in the Covid-19 epidemic and on Monday recorded its first deaths since the easing of the strict measures of its “zero Covid” policy. The Asian giant abruptly turned around in early December, lifting most of the health restrictions that had been in place for nearly three years since the first coronavirus cases emerged in the city of Wuhan (mid) in late 2019.
The extent of the contamination is “impossible” to determine, according to the admission of the authorities themselves, screening tests are no longer required. Experts fear the country is ill-prepared for the wave of infections, while millions of elderly and vulnerable people remain unvaccinated. On Monday, authorities reported the deaths of two patients in the capital, the only ones since restrictions were lifted on December 7, officials said. Since then, the city and its 22 million inhabitants have been particularly affected by a wave of contamination unprecedented since the beginning of the pandemic, which has spread at lightning speed in the past few days.
Reports point to a rise in deaths in hospitals and overcrowded crematoria, while anti-flu drugs are missing from pharmacies. “The (official) numbers don’t tell the whole story,” said Leong Hoe Nam, a Singapore-based infectious disease expert who said he expects a much higher toll. And to make the argument: some hospitals are too full to take in new patients, while the importance of Covid-19 may have been minimized by healthcare workers. Result: If someone dies “of a heart attack after the stress of infection” with Covid-19, “then the heart attack is the (retained) leading cause of death, even if Covid-19 is the underlying cause,” Leong Hoe Nam told AFP.
The first of three waves awaiting China
One of the country’s top epidemiologists, Wu Zunyou, has warned that China is facing “the first of three waves” of Covid-19 expected this winter. The current wave is expected to last until mid-January, mainly affecting cities, before the Lunar New Year (22 January) holiday-related displacement triggers a second in February.
The third peak will occur between late February and mid-March when those infected return to their jobs during the holiday, Wu said, according to the Caijing Business Daily.